


The Philosophy of Infinitea

by orphan_account



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, Philosophical Musing, Post-Canon, Xing, culture clash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-26
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-17 02:31:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1370632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which May and Alphonse discuss the cultural ramifications of alchemy and alkahestry, and Lan Fan offers a view of someone invested in neither.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Philosophy of Infinitea

**Author's Note:**

> Backburner fic #1. Written for the prompt: "Meifan: Alphonse, alchemy, and alkahestry, for added alliterative appeal." I like your use of tropes, friend.
> 
> For those who are mildly disappointed, these have all been published on LP already; I'm just taking the downtime to move some of my unpublished backburner fics to ao3. So: these are somewhat old-ish.
> 
> Unbeta'd/unedited due to length. Enjoy!

Steam, grey as the drizzling rain and light as a bird’s feathers, wisped from the surface of the cups of tea. Circular, Alphonse mused, like the rest of Xing. Somehow he nation—the _people_ , rather—had taken to roundness. The round handleless cups, the round doorway of May’s private quarters, the round window which revealed the mild summer shower outside, the round sashes that the nobility tended to wear to signify where lay their fealty,  the round brims of the conical hats which protected the rice farmers from the overbearing sun, the round traditions of cycles and seasons. An infinite circle that looped round and round.

Comforting, in a way. No matter how far one went, as long as one _went_ , one could always return to the beginning.

“Alkahestry versus alchemy,” said May. Al glanced up from his tea to find her kneeling next to him over the tea table, having seated herself without his noticing. He raised an eyebrow. “I know what you were thinking about.”

“And when did you become a mind reader?”

“When you mumbled something about energy and matter.” Holding the cup between her palm she lifted it to her lips and drank deeply. He watched the muscles in her throat contract and relax; from his training in medical alkahestry he could name them. His pride stirred at his tested knowledge. “What are you thinking about?”

“You were right,” he admitted. “Xingese culture in general—from what I’ve seen—is pretty fixated on the circular. Alchemy is the change of matter; only the simplest transmutations can be undone without a tremendous expense in energy, and even then, it requires much more thought to, say, smooth out broken rock than to rip it up in the first place.”

May nodded, her hair bouncing at her shoulders and collarbone; he made a mental note to remind her to take down her braids more often. “Whereas in alkahestry, all energy flows with the Dragon’s Pulse, and so the energy is restored because it never truly changes.”

“Some is still lost in each transfer.”

“Mm, light and heat. The same with alchemy.”

Leaning forward, Al propped his elbows on the table. “But alkahestry transmutations can be undone. And alkahestry can on occasion undo alchemy, if the alchemy deals more with the transfer of energy than with matter:The matter is still transmuted, but the energy can reverted.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth curved up into a grin; Al nudged her shoulder as she propelled herself into the debate. “So you’re saying that alkahestry’s circular nature can be traced back to Xingese culture? Or—the other way around? Either-or?”

He _hrm_ ed. “I’m not sure.”

A new thread of _chi_ at the entrance. “Well, it sounds like yin and yang.”

May waved. Poured a third cup of tea while Lan Fan knelt on May’s other side. Gratefully the vassal took the cup. Al nodded at her presence. “Isn’t there a cultural analogy associated with that? Something about—mountains? And valleys?”

May and Lan Fan glanced briefly at one another. “Imagine the sun shining down on a mountain.” Lan Fan cupped her hand into the vague shape of what Al supposed was meant to represent her metaphor. “The lighter slope is _yang_ ; the darker is _yin_. As the day draws on the sun moves to the other side. The darker slope becomes the lighter: _yang_. The lighter becomes the darker: _yin_.”

“An endless cycle, in other words, with neither side truly distinguished from the other. All of energy is that—energy, if in various forms.”

May clapped her hands together. “While in alchemy, matter _does_ take on different forms. Significantly different, so it can’t be converted easily, and the energy loss is massive enough that it can’t drive itself. The geothermal stuff, right?”

“Which doesn’t work in Xing, because the tectonics are much more stable here. So the Xingese developed their own form, which takes far less energy but far more planning, which In turn must have influenced its culture: Alkahestry itself is like a manifestation of yin and yang, isn’t it?”

She tapped her knuckles on her chin. “Well, yin and yang isn’t the whole of Xing, but I can see what you mean. While Amestris became a culture based on one-way passages. Linear arrows. Conflict instead of harmony, because only a single force could push through. And while tradition and family are _so_ important here—because energy loops back on itself—Amestris is all about the individual. Matter’s separate; energy transfers as easily as—”

She snapped her fingers. Gasping in unison, Al and May clasped their hands together, trapping one another’s fingers. Lan Fan sighed. “I should have come a few minutes later. I’ve walked into an obsession session without realising it. If I’m lucky, perhaps I could still make my escape.”

Without letting go of Al, May pouted playfully. She nestled her chin onto Lan Fan’s shoulder. “Just wait a few more minutes. We’re onto something!”

“You’re onto recognising that Xing and Amestris are different?” Lan Fan crossed her arms across her chest. The right hand, of natural flesh; Al could sense the heartbeat cycling blood from her chest to her fingertips and back again. The left hand, of inhuman steel; Al could see the separate shark-scale plates of the design, held together by distinct screws. “Alchemy and alkahestry _are_ different, and I’m sure that you could figure out _all sorts_ about Amestris and Xing. I practise neither. I need neither.”

May’s fingers slid free from Al’s hands; she pressed her palms into Lan Fan’s thighs while the latter simply took another sip from the teacup. “But—”

“Maybe I don’t understand the debate—” Al bit his tongue to keep himself from correcting her: not a debate, but rather an exploration. “—but as far as I have seen, both Xing and Amestris believe in individuals _and_ in family. Xing prefers the former; Amestris, the latter.” Her voice steadied. “We’re all still carved from the same . . . matter and energy, as you say.”

“This is new,” Al observed, “not that I’m complaining about humanistic views, being a humanist myself.”

Lan Fan shrugged. Before she could respond May whipped towards him. “Of course it’s not _new_. She’s the one who told Ling that the Clan hierarchy _had_ to go. _Lan Fan_ was willing to punch ‘im out for it.”

“I wouldn’t have punched him _out_ ,” Lan Fan murmured, and May laughed. Al raised his hands defensively.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. Sorry, Lan Fan.”

Shrugging again, Lan Fan drained the remainder of the glass and set it down upon the table. The surface rippled in concentric circles. Not touching, no, but round nonetheless. Energy flowing over a matrix of matter. “No need. You can continue with your talk later. I shouldn’t have interrupted.”

“Nonsense. I love having you around.” May inched towards Lan Fan. Between the start of Al’s blink and the end she had moved almost to Lan Fan’s lap. “Al, could we finish this discussion later?”

“It’s all right.” Lan Fan embraced the princess. “I can tolerate some back-and-forth a while longer. Especially since you make the most amazing faces when you’re this passionate.” She whispered something into May’s ear in a rapid Xingese that Al couldn’t quite catch; in that moment May flushed bright red, almost emulating his brother, and Al smiled. “Either way, however, we’ve all able to discuss it together for a reason.”

“Mm.” May reached forward to clasp the hands of her best friend and her lover at once. “And that’s reason enough for me.”


End file.
